Meet the team

Professor Jim Morgan is a Civil/Structural/Earthquake Engineer with over 40 years experience. He has experience with post disaster assessment of structures after earthquakes and hurricanes, and has completed a variety of retrofit projects related to controlling machine vibration. In addition, he worked for approximately 20 years in the general area of highway safety focusing primarily on crash cushions, break-away sign supports, bridge and guardrails, and in providing safe work zones along highway rights of way.

Jim has expertise in:

• structural analysis and design
• structural dynamics and design for dynamic hazards
• highway safety.

Dr Miao Li has a PhD degree in Civil Engineering, a Master’s degree in Geological Engineering and a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering Geology. Dr Miao Li is currently appointed as a Senior Lecturer in Civil Engineering at the Charles Sturt University.

Prior to this appointment, Dr Li was a Research Fellow at the Smart Water Research Centre, Griffith University, working on a research project entitled: “Validation of maturation ponds/lagoons in order to enhance safe and economical water recycling Regional and Remote Water Security”. Dr Li was the primary researcher for maturation ponds hydrodynamic modelling integrated with water quality modelling using MIKE 3.

Dr Li’s expertise also extends to transient structure analysis, including the interaction between structures and waves, wind and earthquakes modelling, in the offshore environment for offshore wind turbines.

Dr Miao Li has expertise in:

• hydrodynamic modelling using MIKE 3
• transient nonlinear structural analysis using ANSYS
• numerical modelling using the Finite Element Method and the Scaled Boundary Finite Element Method
• wave-structure interaction analysis
• infrastructure analysis for renewable (e.g. wind) energy.

Lalantha Senevirathna is an Environmental Engineer with over 10 years of field experience. He has been involved with number of water and wastewater treatment projects in Australia, Japan, Thailand and Sri Lanka.

Lalantha is a chartered environmental Engineer and he has contributed to overcome several emerging environmental issues such as PFAS contamination in Australia and Japan and reservoir nitrification issue in Sydney water.

Lalantha has expertise in:

• tracer level water pollutants
• environmental monitoring
• advanced water and wastewater treatment
• water quality and public health.

Peter Thew is a Structural Engineer with over 18 years’ experience in the field. He is experienced in steel and concrete design for all structures and buildings up to 5 stories and in timber for smaller structures. He also conducts structural assessments of existing buildings to determine their safety and adequacy for service, or to design repairs and upgrades.

Peter is an expert in forensic engineering, including analysis of failures and assessment of historic structures.  Prior to his appointment at CSU Peter started and led the structural engineering division at Geolyse, a mid-sized consultancy in NSW.  As the technical director of a construction company in Pakistan from 2007 to 2012 he oversaw the design and construction of several schools, hospitals and houses, plus the assessment or repairs of embassy buildings, steel canopies and power stations.

Specific past roles include being responsible for maintenance for Dams in Northern NSW and structural engineering for a NSW engineering consultant. Along with personnel management skills, he brings a depth of experience in structural engineering.

Peter has expertise in:

• steel, timber and concrete structures
• forensic engineering, failure analysis, structural problems, corrosion.
• assessment of historic structures,
• dam operations, maintenance and safety
• foreign aid and development.

Shara Cameron is a civil engineer specialising in water engineering with more than ten years experience. She has worked for several engineering consultancies conducting water and civil assessments and preparing designs for government and private clients. She has experience in flood studies, stormwater harvesting and reuse schemes, catchment and channel modelling, water balance assessments, hydraulic structures and subdivision design projects. For the past three years she has taught civil engineering in the innovative Master of Civil Systems course at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst.

Shara has experience in:

• hydrological and hydraulic numerical modelling
• flood studies
• water cycle assessments
• stormwater management plans
• stormwater detention modelling and design
• local government grant applications.

Dr Karthika Pillai has a PhD in Coastal Engineering and completed her Master in Construction Technology and Management wherein her research focussed on breakwater structures. She worked in the infrastructure development industry for three years prior to her PhD and she was involved in the preparation of tender documents, logistic plans and methods for the construction of major road and metro rail projects in India. Furthermore, she was engaged in teaching civil engineering prior to and during her PhD.

Her areas of strong expertise are wave structure interaction, physical model testing, development of prediction models and the study of climate change impacts.

Karthika is looking forward to her role at Charles Sturt to give back to the society by sharing her technical, industrial and academic experience to foster a generation of engineers who are eager to serve the society.

Dr Saeed Shaeri has a PhD degree in Coastal Engineering, a Master’s degree in Marine Structure Engineering and a Bachelor’s degree in Civil engineering. Before commencing his PhD research in 2012, Saeed was involved in projects dealing with study and construction of fishing, commercial and leisure ports and harbours (for their breakwater, dredging operation and logistic yard), and offshore structure (e.g. oil platforms and jackets), all of which encompassed computerised simulation (of wave, current, and sediment transport).

Saeed’s specialist expertise is the hydro-sedimentological evolution of small tidal inlets, including establishment of numerical models capable of predicating the change of inlet entrance as a result of changes in environmental forcing and physical constraints.

Dr Nariman Saeed, joined as a Lecturer in Engineering at Charles Sturt University in July 2022. He obtained his Bachelor and Master’s degrees in Civil Engineering in 1997 and 1999. Dr Saeed Started his professional career as a Structural/Geotechnical Engineer in 2001 and had been involved in several projects in different engineering positions for 10 years. Receiving an industrial supported scholarship, he started his PhD at the University of Queensland and obtained his PhD in Civil/Structural Engineering in 2015.

Nariman Worked as a research fellow for 6 years at the Centre for Infrastructure Engineering at Western Sydney University where he led more than 50, CAT3 and CAT4 research projects and supervised more than 40 postgraduates and honours. Dr Saeed is a Chartered Structural Engineer and a Fellow of Engineers Australia. He has got more than 20 years of experience in academia and industry in Australia and Oversees.